Vehicle device for hitching horses



O. DUNKEL.- Vehicle Device for- Hitehing Horses.

No; 226,653. Paten ted April 20,1880.

7 i Witnesses Q% UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR DUNKEL, OF EUREKA, NEVADA.

VEHICLE DEVICE FOR HITCHING HORSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 226,653, dated April 20, 1880.

Application filed February 24, 1880.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, OSCAR DUNKEL, of Enreka, county of Eureka, and State of Nevada, have invented an Improved Horse Holding and Hitching Device; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

The object of my invention is to provide a device by means of which horses will be prevented from running away, either when left standing or when in motion.

It consists of a lever attached to the bed or body of the vehicle, and so connected with the sin gle-trees and the horses bits, that when left standing, in case the horses move ahead, their motion will operate the lever and draw their heads apart or together, thus checking them. Then,when they back in obedience to the check they receive, the pull will be relieved.

In driving the ordinary lines or reins are used; but in case of the horses attempting to run the driver can draw on the check-rein, which is used with the lever, and may thus draw the horses heads to either side and stop their onward progress, and this without reference to the driving-reins, as is more fully described in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows the application of my device. Fig. 2 is a view of the device.

Let A represent a lever moving on a fulcrum-pin, a, placed on the bed or body B of a vehicle. To the lower end of this lever are attached chains 0, provided with rings 0. These rings may be connected with the single-trees of a double team. The lever and single-trees being thus connected, the rings are slipped over the ends of the single-trees inside the traces, as shown, so as to be kept in place.

The preventer rein D has two preventerchecks, d d, one leading to each horse of the double team. These preventer-checks are not fastened to both rings of the bit of each horse, but to one side of each bit only. They may lead to the inside or the outside rings, as desired, so that when a strain is brought on the rein D the horses heads will be pulled together or outside and away from each other.

At a suitable point on the rein D is a ring, f, made to fit on a pin, E, on top of the lever, and on the end of the rein is another ring, f,

on the pin E on top of the lever A, the chains from the bottom of the lever being at all times connected with the single-trees, as hereinbefore described. The little not 0 is screwed down on the pin, and the ringf thus holds the preventer-rein D. The buckles of the preventer-checks d (1 having previously been fastened to the outside rings of the bits of the pair of horses, the preventer-rein D is thus connected with both the lever and the bits. The horses stand naturally with their traces slack, leaving the traces, for instance, four inches slack. When therefore the horses, in attempting to start ahead, straighten out their traces and brin g a strain on the sin gle-trees, they draw, by means of the chains 0, the lower end of the lever A forward about four inches. This will throw the upper end of the lever back some eight inches, and the lever, by drawing on the preventer-rein D and checks (1 d, will turn the horses heads completely around to the outside. This causes them to back up, when the strain on the preventer-line will be relieved, and they will again take a natural standing position. As often as they attempt to start they operate the lever and check themselves, but when once checked the strain of the preventerline is immediately relieved.

In order to regulate and adjust the lines and chains with reference to the bits, lever, and sin gle-trees, so that exactly the proper amount of poll will be given, the chains are connected with the single-trees by whichever set of the rings 0 are found suitable, these rings representing the difi'erence in length between one wagon and another. An extra hole, a, is also made in the lever, so the screw-bolt fulcrumpin a may be put in the lever lower down when the horses are very hard in the mouth. I can thus obtain one and a quarter or one and oneeighth of an inch back pull to every half-inch pull on the bottom of the lever. A buckle, D, serves also to regulate the length of the check-line.

When the driver wishes to proceed with'his team he'removes the nut on the pin at the top of the lever and lifts the ringf off. He then puts on the ring f of the reinD and replaces the nut. The preventer-line then hangs slack while the ordinary driving reins are used. Should the horses attempt to run, however, and the driver be unable to control them with the driving-reins, he can pull on the preventerrein D, which, having its checks fastened to one side of each horses month only, draws the heads of the horses apart or together, as the case may be, and thus enables the driver to stop their progress more easily than would asteady pull on both sides of each bit. I prefer to attach the preventer-checks to the outside of the hits, since then, when their heads'are turned, they can see that there is nothing thatwill hurt them. This will eventually break them from any habit of running away; but when the horses are very shy or nervous fastening to the inside would be preferred.

\Vhen this deviceis used for a vehicle drawn by a single horse 1 provide rings on the shafts, through which the preventer-checks d (I lead, one on each side, these rings being preferred to the martingale-rings, so that the check-lines and driving-lines are always separate. In pulling on the preventer-line the horses head is drawn down and back, and he will not be able to run. In very rare instances severer bits may have to be used on single horses of very hard months.

to attach the preventer-rein to thelever when the'driver Wishes to leave thehorses, and the moment they begin to move ahead enough to tighten their traces they check themselves back by drawing on the lever and line. There will be,no tendency to back too far, since as soon as their traces are slack again the strain purpose herein described.

2.- In combination with the adjustable lever A, secured in the body of the wagon and having its lower end connected by chains 0 and rings 0 c with the single-trees, to which the traces are attached, the preveuter-rein D, with its checks d d, and the separate ringsff, adapted to tit over the pin E of said lever and be held by the nut e, whereby the horses may be hitched while standing, or the same independent preventer-rein be utilized to check the horses when moving, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto setmy hand.

OSCAR DUNKEL. Witnesses: I

ALEXANDER WILsoN, WM. H. GALLAGHER. 

